Sevilla Interested In Loan Deal for Manchester City Winger Nolito

Spanish side Sevilla are interested in a loan deal for Manchester City winger Nolito, according to Spanish magazine Marca.

City are willing to let the 30-year-old former Celta Vigo winger return to Spain but want his wages paid in full. Nolito, who joined the club last summer, struggled for game time towards the end of the 2016/17 under Pep Guardiola – and looks set for a move abroad this summer with Guardiola unlikely to include him in his plans for the following season.

Sevilla are soon to be coached by Eduardo Berizzo, who also managed Celta Vigo from 2013 to 2017. Should Nolito opt for a move to southern Spain, he will be reunited with Berizzo; he played under the Argentinian in his three-year spell at Celta.

Los Nervionenses will be looking to strike a similar deal to the one they agreed with for Samir Nasri last summer, even if they didn’t take up the option to buy the French midfielder on a permanent basis.

The Spaniard made 30 appearances for Manchester City in 2016/17 – with 19 of these coming in the Premier League. He managed 6 goals in 30 appearances for the club; he is yet to make a league start for the Sky Blues in 2017.

On his future at the club, the Spaniard told Marca that he wanted to leave the club:

“I’d like to leave, whether that be on loan, permanently. I know about Atletico, Celta…these are things for my representatives. I’m calm and on holiday at the moment, but I’m thinking about returning to Spain.”

“Until December I was playing and happy, but during these four months, I’ve played practically no games. We’ll see what happens in the summer.”

While the Andalusians can afford €12m the Citizens are allegedly requesting, Nolito’s €3m net earnings per year would break their salary balance. Therefore, a loan is a more likely scenario.

The addition of promising young striker Gabriel Jesus in the summer all but nullified his involvement since the turn of the year. Despite being renowned for his passing ability, the ex-Barcelona winger has rarely had a look in this term.

Should he leave the club, he’ll join the likes of Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Jesus Navas and Willy Caballero into the exit door.